Robust 2023 Results for Mobilize Financial Services capitalizing from a normalizing automotive market

Mobilize Financial Services, the commercial brand of RCI Banque SA, posts strong growth in sales[1] in 2023 as the automotive market returns to normal:

• The number of new financing contracts in 2023 will be 6.6% higher than in 2022.
• The amount of new financings will increase by 17.1% in 2023 compared with 2022, driven by a rise in registrations and average amounts financed (+9.9%)
• The penetration rate for electric vehicles stands at 48.1% in 2023, 5.2 points higher than the penetration rate for other types of engines
• The penetration rate stands at 43.4% (44.8% in 2022)
• The number of service and insurance contracts sold in 2023 will be 1.5% higher than in 2022.

Mobilize Financial Services reports higher pre-tax income thanks to strong sales activity.

• The net banking income (NBI) stands at €1,961 million, a decrease of 2.7%
• compared to 2022.  This decrease was mainly due to the impact of interest-rate swaps hedging sight deposits, accounted for at market value, which had a negative impact of 84 million euros in 2023 and a positive impact of 101 million euros in 2022.
• Average performing assets (APA)[2] will thus increase by 14.4% over 2023.
• The cost of risk remains under control at 0.30% of APAs in 2023 (0.44% in 2022)
• Savings business is on the rise again, with an additional 3.8 billion euros of deposits collected in 2023, to reach 28.2 billion euros of net deposits at the end of December 2023 (i.e., 51.5% of the company's net assets)

To support the transition from ownership to usage, Mobilize Financial Services has strengthened its car leasing and subscription offer with the announcement of the acquisition of MeinAuto, a leading player in the German leasing market.  Announced in July 2023, this acquisition will expand the offering of Mobilize Lease&Co, Mobilize Financial Services' private lease structure.

“Mobilize Financial Services has once again demonstrated the strength and relevance of its business model, with an increase in pre-tax income and a savings business that for the first-time accounts for more than half of net assets. These indicators enable the 4,000 employees of Mobilize Financial Services to look forward with ambition to 2024, a year of change and acceleration for our businesses in the service of new mobilities. Renewed governance with the arrival in January 2024 of a new Chief Executive Officer at the head of the entity will also strengthen the links between Mobilize Beyond Automotive and Mobilize Financial Services to support Renault Group's strategy," says Gianluca De Ficchy, Chief Executive Officer of Mobilize and Chairman of the Board of Directors of RCI Banque SA.  

"This decade must enable us to define the new modalities of sustainable mobility for all. The year 2023 has once again confirmed that our strategy in this direction is a winning one for our partners and our 4 million customers worldwide. Mobilize Financial Services has strengthened its strategic commitment to private lease in Europe and has continued to make the diversification of its business lines a major focus for development," explains Martin Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of Mobilize Financial Services.

Against a backdrop of normalization in the automotive market, Mobilize Financial Services has seen the amount of new financings increase by 17.1% compared with 2022, thanks to the rise in average amounts financed and registrations of Renault Group, Nissan and Mitsubishi, which it has been financing since April 2023.

In the countries where Mobilize Financial Services operates, the automotive market is growing by 12.8%, and volumes for Renault Group, Nissan and Mitsubishi brands will reach 2.17 million vehicles in 2023, an increase of 14%.

The penetration rate will be 43.4% in 2023, down 1.4 points in 2022. This slight decline is mainly due to an unfavourable channel mix, with a smaller share of vehicle sales to private customers than last year.

Mobilize Financial Services financed 1,274,199 contracts in 2023, up 6.6% on 2022. New financings (excluding cards and personal loans) rose by 17.1% to 21 billion euros, thanks to a 9.9% increase in average amounts financed.

• Used vehicle financing business was down 3.3% on 2022, with 330,352 contracts financed.
• The 48.1% penetration rate for electric vehicles in 2023, +5.2 points higher than the penetration rate for other engine types, demonstrates Mobilize Financial Services' ability to support customers of Renault Group brands and its partners towards more sustainable mobility.
• The share of the loyalty products increased in 2023, representing 62% of new vehicle financing applications in the retail customer segment, an increase of +5.4 points.

The number of insurance and service contracts sold in 2023 amounted to 3.9 million, up 1.5% on the previous year - i.e., 3 services sold per vehicle financed1 (new and used vehicles). This figure illustrates the success of Mobilize Financial Services' "all-in-one" financing offers.

Customer satisfaction, at the heart of Mobilize Financial Services actions, has been rising steadily for the past 4 years, and will reach a record level in 2023: the Net Promoter Score[3] at +58 is 2 points higher than in 2022, and 11 points higher than in 2019. This performance is the result of a series of innovations and services designed to continuously improve the customer experience by monitoring various tools in all our countries.

Net banking income (NBI) came to 1,961 million euros, down 2.7% on 2022. This decrease is mainly due to the impact of interest rate swaps covering sight deposits that are accounted for at market value. This had a negative impact of 84 million euros over 2023, compared with a positive impact of +101 million euros over 2022.

The contribution to NBI from service activities represents 36.8%, up 5.1 points in 2022.

Operating costs amounted to 712 million euros, up 74 million euros on end-2022. They represent 1.39% of average performing assets (APA), an improvement of 3 basis points compared with 2022.

In 2023, APAs rose due to growth in new financings and the normalization of dealer network outstanding, which had bottomed out in 2022 due to the semiconductor shortage. At the end of 2023, net assets at end[4] reached 54.2 billion euros, compared with 49.3 billion euros at the end of 2022, up 10% on the previous year.

The overall cost of risk stands at 0.30% of APAs versus 0.44% in 2022, reflecting the good credit quality of the portfolio under management.

The savings collection business, the result of the financing diversification strategy initiated 10 years ago by Mobilize Financial Services, once again proved to be particularly dynamic and competitive in terms of the cost of the resources collected. Net deposits collected have risen by 3.8 billion euros since the beginning of the year, reaching 28.2 billion euros at the end of December 2023.  

Pre-tax incomes thus stood at 1,034 million euros, compared with 1,025 million euros at end-December 2022.

To accelerate the transition from ownership to usage, Mobilize Financial Services is developing offers and services around the following priorities:

• Deploy leasing and subscription offers for all vehicle lives: subsidiary Mobilize Lease&Co, which specializes in leasing offers, has announced the acquisition of MeinAuto, a leading player in the German leasing market, in 2023. Its goal is to reach a fleet of one million vehicles by 2030 and double its international presence. Mobilize Financial Services is stepping up its used-vehicle financing business, with offers tailored to the entire life cycle of the vehicle, to facilitate access to more sustainable mobility.

• Offer insurance solutions and vehicle-related services with high added value for the customer: in particular, the Group has begun to broaden its offer with innovative car insurances based on usage, thanks to vehicle connectivity.
• Supporting changes in usage by promoting the financing of electric vehicles: Mobilize Financial Services supports Renault Group brands in the development of an energy ecosystem (charging stations for retail customers, Fast Charge dealer network).

[1] Excluding equity accounted companies

[2] Average performing assets: APA corresponds to average performing assets plus assets related to operating leases. For customers, this is the average of month-end performing assets. For the dealer network, it is the average of daily performing assets.

[3] The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is the percentage of customers who rate their likelihood of recommending a company, product or service to a friend or colleague as 9 or 10 ("promoters") minus the percentage who rate this likelihood as 6 or less ("detractors") on a scale of 0 to 10.

[4] Net assets at end = Total net outstanding at end + Operating leases transactions net of depreciation and impairment.

Attentive to the needs of all its customers, Mobilize Financial Services, a subsidiary of Renault Group, creates innovative financial services to build sustainable mobility for all. Mobilize Financial Services, which began operations nearly 100 years ago, is the commercial brand of RCI Banque SA, a French bank specializing in automotive financing and services for customers and networks of Renault Group, and also for the brands Nissan and Mitsubishi in several countries.

With operations in 35 countries and nearly 4,000 employees, Mobilize Financial Services financed more than 1,2 million contracts (new and used vehicles) in 2023 and sold 3,9 million services. At the end of December 2023, average earning assets stood at 51,2 billion euros of financing and pre-tax earnings at 1 034 million euros. 

Since 2012, the Group has deployed a deposit-taking business in several countries. At the end of December 2023, net deposits amounted to 28,2 billion euros, or 51,5 % of the company's net assets.